Seventy participants representing unions from 26 countries from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America came together for a special ITF occupational health and safety conference held in Amsterdam on 20-22 April 1999. The participants were from unions representing cabin crew and passenger handling staff who had gathered together to discuss issues which affect the conditions of both sets of staff and which require co-ordination between cabin crew and passenger handling staff. 

The problem of disruptive passengers

Cabin crew are in the almost unique position of not being able to escape from violence or to call for police reinforcements if a passenger becomes threatening or dangerous when airborne. The meeting heard that in many cases of actual violence there is no practical legal action that can be taken by the airline or victims due to major gaps in international law.

In addition to this, the safety professional status of check in staff and gate agents needs to be addressed if the problem of unruly passengers is to be controlled on the ground.

The central approach of the ITF to the unruly passenger problem has been to emphasise that, despite the complexity of the issue, there are practical steps that can and must be taken here and now to address the problem. The ITF's affiliates took up the issue in the companies that they organise and worked with IATA, the club of scheduled airlines, ICAO, the worldwide UN body responsible for aviation, as well as with pilots organisations, airport groups and others to seek a significant improvement in the way that the industry tackles the problem.